Keep breakfast simple and lose fat fast! Just 4 ingredients that will fuel your fat burning furnace and keep you full for hours. This simple treat is low in calories, but high in fiber and protein to keep you satisfied and enjoying your food.

Hey beautiful, if you’re reading this it probably means that your my sister in arms against “body shame,” yet at the same time we are professional participants in this behavior. Such a paradox! We hate it and yet we do it…every, freakin’ day. Or maybe it’s just me.

In our culture, it’s difficult to love your body without A LOT of effort and it can take years to get there. There are so many challenges to face, before you can totally feel compassion, acceptance and ultimately love your body. Because everyday we are bombarded with pictures, articles, videos, and blogs constantly feeding us messages about how we should look, feel, dress, and act.

How many times a day do you see an article telling you how you can get a, “bikini body,” as if putting a bikini on your body doesn’t qualify as a bikini body? These kinds of messages seem so normal, that we don’t realize the message we’re receiving and telling ourselves is that our bodies aren’t good enough as they are. There is a cultural body-shaming that is so ingrained that it simply feels like the truth. But it’s not the truth. You don’t have to change your body to be deserving, beautiful, confident, or healthy.

TRUTH BOMB: You have to fill yourself with so much truth that there’s no room for anything else.

What’s the truth?(notice that I change the wording to “I” instead of you. I want you to read it as though you’re speaking these truths over your life and who you are.)

1. I am beautiful (yes, you!)

You are not defined by an immeasurable standard set by a warped society. You are in fact gorgeous, intricately designed, and perfectly created. Completely, totally and marvelously made. to be exact.

2. What I look like doesn’t determine my value

Changing your body might seem like the answer. If only you could be thinner, leaner, stronger, prettier you’d finally feel good about yourself. Perhaps you would in some ways. I like to call these our “if only’s”, which are the false beliefs that if only we could reach some goal, everything would change. Unfortunately, even when one does reach their “if only”, they find that it wasn’t the answer to all of their pain and problems. Healing these painful wounds and understanding your value takes a different kind of change.

3. I am believing a lie

You’re telling yourself that other people posses something you don’t and it makes them better. LIE. BIG STINKING LIE! First off, we’re all pretty much fighting and struggling in the same arena. That person you think has it better than you can’t get rid of their cellulite, is in a bad marriage, her self-confidence is in the toilet, and paying the rent is a daily struggle. They don’t have it all together. None of us do.

Remind yourself of the truth: We’re all in this together and what you see is only half the story. I remember when people started finding out about my life, marriage, and struggles NO ONE BELIEVED IT. Everyone thought that I had the perfect marriage, the big house, the perfect baby and life…the reality was that my life was a disaster in every way and no one knew, but me. So, don’t be too quick to judge. Although, my little girl is pretty close to perfect. HA

How To Stop Body Shame

1. unfollow, unfollow…did i mention, unfollow?

Unfollow the pain points. I want you to go through your social media feeds today and unfollow at least 10 accounts that don’t make you feel good about yourself. You know the ones. It’s the girls in the bikinis, booty shorts, and 6 pack abs that remind you of the fact that you don’t have the perfect butt or washboard stomach.

UNFOLLOW them like your life depends on it…it kind of does or at least your sanity does.

2. Love Your Body through the process

Keep in mind that acceptance and love for your body as it is, doesn’t mean you can’t still work toward your health goals. However, when you work toward those goals with love, support and compassion for yourself, you’re more likely to get there, and you’re definitely going to be happier along the way and beyond those goals.

Here’s how: be kind to yourself before you reach your goals. You don’t have to be perfect to like yourself, but you do need to like yourself. Let’s rephrase that YOU MUST LOVE AND RESPECT YOURSELF. I have come to believe very strongly (specifically, this last year) that you can only experience love and respect at the level in which you offer love and respect to yourself.

How to: Say kind things to yourself and replace the criticism. The next time you say something or think something hurtful or unkind about yourself, replace it with a complement. (e.g. “oh, my gosh! My cellulite is disgusting. Instead say> Wow! My legs are so strong and my calves are freakin’ fantastic!!!) It may sound stupid, BUT IT WORKS. You have to change the dialogue and words with which you speak to yourself. And a good rule is that if you wouldn’t say it to a friend, then you have no business saying it to yourself.

3. Surround Yourself With the right people

If your tribe is always talking about how ugly or fat someone is, they are the wrong group to be with. Why? Because it magnifies your own insecurities and “shortcomings,” plus it makes you doubt your own worth. If you’re in a relationship of any kind that makes you believe you should be smarter, skinnier, better, etc to be with them or to make them happy…you need to re-evaluate that relationship. Of course you can have health goals and you should, but you should not fear that they will criticize or look down on you for not meeting their expectations.

Your tribe should consist of people that remind you how incredible you are. They should give you complements just for being you with no strings attached. Never let someone de-value you, NO MATTER WHAT. You are beautiful, worthy, and intelligent and you should be treated as such.

Conclusion:

Feeling better about your body may seem so far away for some of you; impossible even. But I believe that, there is hope that you can wake up in the morning one day soon, and feel great in you body, just as your body is right now. It will take hard work, but is definitely worth doing. Why? You’re going to be with yourself for the rest of your life, so you need to be someone you enjoy being with, and not someone who just puts you down. To begin overcoming shame about your body, start with an open heart that this can be different for you. The first step is being kind, even when you fall short.

(Looking for a program that will help you get a flat tummy—and keep it that way? With my Lose Belly Fat—For Good routines, you can see results in as little as 3 days.)

We know that this type of fat—called visceral fat—churns out stress hormones like cortisol and inflammatory substances called cytokines that affect the body’s production of insulin. The result: Besides obesity, you’re also looking at increased risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. No thanks. Check out these 6 tips to finally rid your body of that excess stomach.

1. NEVER STOP MOVING

There’s one thing to like about visceral fat: It yields fairly easily to aerobic exercise. Running, biking, or swimming—basically anything that gets your heart rate up—wins over low impact resistance training when it comes to getting rid of the chub.

2. LOAD UP ON PROTEIN

You know that protein’s essential for a slimmer you. But here’s why protein really needs to play a prime roll on your plate: Your body starts to produce more insulin as you age, since your muscle and fat cells aren’t responding to it properly. Insulin promotes fat storage—especially around your belly—and a diet high in protein may protect you against insulin resistance. In one study, obese women who followed a diet for eight weeks that was roughly 30 percent protein, 40 percent carbs, and 30 percent fat lost significantly more fat—including visceral pudge—than women who stuck to a plan that was 16 percent protein, 55 percent carbs, and 26 percent fat.

3. PILE ON (GOOD) fats

This just in: Saturated fat packs on more visceral fat than polyunsaturated ones, according to a recent Swedish study. When subjects ate 750 more calories daily for seven weeks—either in the form of palm oil (saturated) or sunflower oil (polyunsaturated)—the former gained more visceral fat while the latter gained more muscle mass and less body fat. Polyunsaturated fats can be found in nuts, seeds, and fish.

4. THROW BACK SOME VINEGAR

Obese people who consumed a tablespoon or two of vinegar daily for eight weeks showed significant decreases in body fat—particularly visceral fat—according to a 2009 Japanese study. One theory is that the acetic acid in the vinegar produces proteins that burn up fat.

5. PRACTICE YOGA & BREATHE

Women who tried yoga for 16 weeks reported significant reductions in visceral fat in one 2012 study. If you’re just not that into downward dog, any sort of relaxation exercise (even simple deep breathing) can help. The key is to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is linked to belly fat.

6. SLEEP BETTER

Routinely squeaking by on five hours or less per night increases visceral fat levels, according to a 2010 Wake Forest University study. As you likely already know, eight hours is ideal.

Today, we’re gonna look a little closer to see “WHY ” you’re not making progress and how to get back on track.

Let’s say you’re a 5’5”, 30 year-old woman who weighs 135 lbs. You need to take in 1,387 calories just to live. What do you think I’m thinking when you come to me eating 1,300 calories, exercising like a maniac, and wondering why you’re exhausted and not losing weight?

You are burning the candle at both ends.

Working late nights and getting up early to workout instead of sleeping and letting your body recover. Try making sleep a priority for a few weeks. Eat real food instead of supplements, and and try restorative exercise like yoga to reduce cortisol. The scale will magically drop, again.

You eat fat-free foods.

This only leaves you hungry and angry. Healthy fats (avocados, almonds, egg yolks) are satisfying. Your body NEEDS fat to function properly. It can’t do what it needs to do without it. Eating fats doesn’t make you fat, when you eat the right kind and amount.

If you’re drinking your food, you’re probably still under-eating. Couple that with the fact that your body isn’t digesting any solid foods and you have a recipe for disaster, like overeating. Big time.

You exercise, until you can’t stand up.

You’re at the gym six days a week, killing yourself. This doesn’t enable your body to recover or get stronger, and that added stress is destroying your hormonal harmony that’s required to drop body fat.

You’re addicted to cardio.

Building lean body mass is the best way to lose body fat. You need to lift weights, no way around it.

Are you guilty of making any of these mistakes?

Choose one of them to improve on in the next few weeks + bring awareness to the positive shifts in cravings, behavior and the way you treat yourself! Remember change takes patience, commitment and time above all else…stick with it and trust the process. It takes time, love yourself everyday, and watch yourself transform.

Are you doing any of these or feel stuck and need guidance? Comment below and let me know.

Have you ever had to speak publicly and you had that nervous feeling of, “what will people think?” yet, you have something to say and need to bite the bullet? Well, that’s where I am. And the reality is…it doesn’t matter what people think. I’m responsible for me, my life, my daughter, my choices and the approval of others doesn’t change that.

So, let’s talk. Starting over. Ugh…so overwhelming isn’t it? It doesn’t matter if it is a diet, an exercise regimen, going back to school, etc. No matter what scenario you choose it is undeniably good, but hard. Well, that’s what this year has been: good, but hard. Why? I started over. Right now, you are on my NEW site, with my NEW business,and a NEW name.

This last January I found myself in a broken marriage that was beyond repair, a little baby and choices that had to be made. The right choice on my part was made. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I have walked in integrity and offered the best situation in which to raise my baby girl, but in light of all these changes I’ve been seeing an underlying theme played out in every “starting over” scenario:

1. Fear

Oh, I could write a book on fear. Fear of failure, disapproval, judgment, and letting people down. I used to let it rule my life and keep my mouth shut, even when I knew keeping quiet was compromising who I was at my very core. Or live in fear of being “found out” that I was actually a fraud as a trainer & health coach, because I still struggled with cellulite or fluctuated in weight. And if people really knew my struggles I would be out of the job and mocked.

No matter who you are fear is real. We’re afraid that we’ve gone too far and there’s no coming back. We are held captive to the thought that people will think less of us, because we fluctuate in weight, relationships, and career. Fear has become a best friend to many of us.’

2. Shame

Shame is fear’s ugly sister. It’s the voice that tells you, “you’ll never be good enough,” “you deserve to be fat!” or “no wonder he cheated, look at yourself.” Shame is not productive or useful. It is destructive, constricting and takes your breath away, but there is release from it when you choose to see things another way.

Let me be clear YOU MUST see things another way. You cannot listen to that voice that tells you that you are unworthy, unloved and deserve pain. That is a lie of the enemy and if he can get you to stay there he’s won. But let me tell you about grace…

3.Grace

I can’t help but smile as i type that out. G-R-A-C-E. Can you just say it out loud as you read it, “grace.” You’re smiling now too, aren’t you. Yeah, it’s just that good.

I remember my first week back in my hometown after starting over. It was so filled with fear of what was going to happen to me and crippling shame for my life falling apart (or what felt like it had fallen apart). But soon after I got tired of being a punching bag. I knew that there was so much more for me than I was living. I began to see grace. Unmerited, incomparable grace.

If you’re not familar with grace let me tell you what it does:

It tells you that your beautiful, when all you feel is unloved.

Grace calls you daughter when you feel like an outcast and unworthy to be His child.

She says you’re called when you feel disqualified.

It speaks life when you all you see is dry bones.

Grace my friends is the difference between surviving or becoming a catalyst and world changer.

I don’t know what you’re starting over with today and honestly it doesn’t matter, because the same rules apply: Grace covers all.

So, as I conclude I want you to do one more thing. I want you to whisper “grace” right where you are sitting. Let it sink in (deep exhale). OK, one more time “GRACE.” Close your eyes and let it wash over you, because fear and shame are no longer running the show. Grace is in charge, now.

These are the perfect go to meal, when you're on the go. And you don't have to feel bad about having cookies for breakfast.It's like a guilty pleasure when you're eating dessert for breakfast, but they have all the nutrients that your body needs. These are healthier than breakfast cereals. Plus, with the added protein, you'll stay full and satisfied.

This recipe takes about as much effort to prep as a crock pot meal would but instead of slow cooking all day, you just pop this quick and easy dinner in the oven for about 45 minutes and you get an amazing dinner with tender juicy chicken. Perfectly roasted peppers that are the perfect mix of tender & crunch. Oh, and don't get me started on the cheese topping! A very simple dinner that will please the entire family.
Did you love it or maybe tried another variation? Don't forget to comment below and let me know!